1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handy type foil printer for printing decorative characters and/or diagrams with a gold foil and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a technology that employs a print film consisting of a base film and a foil removably adhered thereon and transfers the foil from the print film to a material to be printed, such as paper and plastic. The technology is known as a method of printing decorative characters and/or diagrams with a metallic foil made of gold, silver or aluminum and a pigment foil. Original characters and/or diagrams are previously depicted on the material with an adhesive ink on which the print film is thereafter pressed to transfer the foil so that glossy or colorful foil characters and/or diagrams can be printed (see JPA 49-26008 and JPA 62-240550, for example).
Various print films for use in printing such the foil characters and/or diagrams have already been available commercially. They are used for decorating confectionery packaging paper and containers. They are also used for labels, seals and bar codes to be attached on various products such as books, cosmetics and AV equipment cabinets. Printers for printing the foil characters and/or diagrams manually or automatically have also been to the commercial stage.
No compact printer has become commercially practical, however, for the personal use of such the print film. In case of printing characters and/or diagrams personally on various goods, gifts and cards, original characters and/or diagrams are required to be depicted with an adhesive ink and then the print film must be overlapped and pressed downwardly onto them. In such the case, it is difficult for children, since the print film is thin, to overlap the film on the adhesive without wrinkling the film. The print film can not be reused at its parts after the foil is once removed from the parts. Accordingly, a print film that is formed as a sheet, for example, becomes gradually spotted after printing is performed several times. The printing operation with such the film is not always easy because it is performed along with selecting foil-remaining parts. It is also difficult to print beautifully. The foil on the print film remains in a worm-eaten state and can not be used any more. This prevents an effective use of the film.
The present invention has been made in consideration of such the situations and accordingly has an object to provide a handy type foil printer capable of performing a printing operation easily with one hand without wrinkling a print film as well as achieving an effective use of the print film.
The present invention is provided with a foil printer which comprises a casing sized to be operable with one hand and a film roll detachably accommodated within the casing. The film roll is a print film processed in the form of a long tape and rolled. The print film consists of a base film and a foil removably adhered thereon. The foil printer also comprises a winding roller arranged within the casing for winding the print film drawn out from the film roll. The foil printer further comprises a printing section formed between the film roll and the winding roller for exposing the print film outside the casing in order to allow the print film to press on a material to be printed. The casing is held in one hand to press the printing section on the material, thereby printing the foil on a character and/or diagram depicted on the material with an adhesive ink.
The present invention is also provided with a foil printer which comprises a casing sized to be operable with one hand. The casing has an opening as a printing section. The foil printer also comprises a film roll accommodated rotatably within the casing, exposing part of a circumferential surface of the film roll through the opening. The film roll is a print film processed in the form of a long tape and rolled. The print film consists of a base film and a foil removably adhered thereon. The casing is held in one hand to press the film roll exposed through the opening on the material, thereby printing the foil on a character and/or diagram depicted on the material with an adhesive ink.
According to the present invention, printing the foil character and/or diagram can be performed easily without wrinkling the film by holding the casing in one hand, needless to take the print film directly by hand. The print film is wound in the form of a roll and is drawn out in accordance with the operation of the casing. The foil can be transferred onto the material to be printed during the film rotates on the material. Therefore, controlling an amount of a print film to be drawn can make it possible to feed a new print film surface in turn so as to remain less residual foil at used parts, thereby achieving an effective use of the print film.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof.